Suffolk County workers are feeling a little lighter in the wallet in 2012 due to a resolution approved Nov. 9 by the county Legislature mandating a deferment of 10 days pay for all employees.

Legislators have an option to participate in the payroll lag, according to the new law which took effect Jan. 1.

The payroll deferment, initiated as a short-term money-saving measure, is to be spread over a period of 26 consecutive pay periods and reimbursed upon separation of county service of participants.

One Huntington legislator touts his voluntary participation as a "cut" in pay, although others describe it differently.

“I am proud to have joined with my colleagues in the Legislature in cutting our salaries this year, joining other county employees who are also sacrificing to help the county preserve vital services without raising taxes during these challenging times,” said 16th District Legis. Steve Stern, D-Dix Hills, in a press release.

Not exactly so, say other legislators who have agreed to the deferred salary reduction.

"I don't think its fair to call it a pay cut. It's a deferment of pay to help the county with it's cash crisis and its budget crisis in the present," said Lou D'Amaro, D-Huntington Station.

"It's kind of a forced savings but it saves the county now," said Lora A. Gellerstein, legislative aide to 18th District Legislator William Spencer. "When you leave county service you get it back."

For Stern, about $3,600 will be held from his annual salary of $93,958, according to legislative aide Deborah Harris, who said savings to the county would be nearly $2 million if all the elected officials take the lag.

Stern, re-elected to his fourth term in Novemeber, has repeatedly refused taxpayer funded perks such as a county car, cell phone and expense reimbursements, according to Harris.

Provisions of state law restrict enactment of resolutions mandating the reduction of salaries for elected officials, according to the resolution co-authored by former 18th District Legis. Jon Cooper in May.

A similar payroll lag was enacted in 2009.